50 Books Every Geek Should Read

Ever find out one of your friends hasn’t read “Neuromancer” or doesn’t know what a Babelfish is or why it’s important to keep a towel handy at all times? Did you have that brief moment where you thought, “Man, it’s like I don’t even know you?”

If you’re going to work in tech, write code, or just spend way too much time on Engadget, Lifehacker, and BoingBoing, there’s a certain amount of reading that goes with the territory. And I’m not just talking about O’Reilly books here. Discovering “Snow Crash” or geeking out on crypto history teaches us part of the language we all share in tech. (Plus, it’s just really fun.)

From classic sci-fi to programming bibles and productivity hacks, we’ve collected the best of the best. See how many of the 50 Books Every Geek Should Read you’ve polished off, or pick your favorite category and start working your way through the rest. And be sure to let us know if we’ve missed any.